Will schools openly show bias?

[Gilakend]

Hello everyone, I searched for this but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. Obviously some (medical) schools have strong in state bias because of their class profiles and so on.

I'm a Michigan resident so obviously my dream med school would be UMichigan. I was talking to my boss, who went to UofM, and he was suggesting that I go to an in state school rather than an out of state school which I currently plan on doing (it's cheaper). So I looked at class profiles and I noticed they do accept a lot of students from in-state schools but I wondered if that was because they preferred in state institutions or because generally the people there were in state residents?

I emailed U of M and they said that attending an out of state school would not, in any way, have weight on an acceptance there. Although due to the ~50% in state matriculation I would say they do have some.

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on this? I feel I'd be able to do better at the OOS school and it has the major I want, but I've dreamt of going to UMich for so long I wouldn't want to hinder my chances at such s great opportunity (low cost compared to others, good location, close to family, prestige obviously).

I realize this question is very premature and but I can't help but wonder when I have to make college choices in the near future.

Thank you in advance to all who read and/or answer.

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[URHere]

Most schools will only care about whether or not you're a resident of their state. Even if you go to college out of state, if you have a Michigan license/voter registration/permanent address, you don't have anything to worry about.

Just go to the college that is the best fit for you.

 

[Gilakend]

Most schools will only care about whether or not you're a resident of their state. Even if you go to college out of state, if you have a Michigan license/voter registration/permanent address, you don't have anything to worry about.

Just go to the college that is the best fit for you.

Thank you for the advice, I will go to the OOS school I planned on attending if it will have no or very minimal weight on an acceptance. You've eased a lot of pressure for when I pick an undergrad school.

 

[Stagg737]

UR is pretty much right, there are a few minor exceptions. If you're going to a large, well-known school or a place with a solid reputation, it won't make a difference. If you go to a small, liberal arts college that well out of the area it could affect your chances. Especially if UMich isn't familiar with it. I know the med school I attend does weight applicant GPAs based on the school they attended. The example our dean gave us was that a 3.0 from Michigan for undergrad would be as good as a 3.5 from Eastern Michigan (we have several Mich students, no Eastern though). So not all schools are equal. I know more than one place I interviewed at over the years asked me about my undergrad college (I attended a small liberal arts college).

That all being said, if you think it's the best fit for you, go there. Your quality of life will be significantly better (and your grades probably will be too) if you go somewhere you like instead of a place you go to just to get into med school.

 

[Gilakend]

UR is pretty much right, there are a few minor exceptions. If you're going to a large, well-known school or a place with a solid reputation, it won't make a difference. If you go to a small, liberal arts college that well out of the area it could affect your chances. Especially if UMich isn't familiar with it. I know the med school I attend does weight applicant GPAs based on the school they attended. The example our dean gave us was that a 3.0 from Michigan for undergrad would be as good as a 3.5 from Eastern Michigan (we have several Mich students, no Eastern though). So not all schools are equal. I know more than one place I interviewed at over the years asked me about my undergrad college (I attended a small liberal arts college).

That all being said, if you think it's the best fit for you, go there. Your quality of life will be significantly better (and your grades probably will be too) if you go somewhere you like instead of a place you go to just to get into med school.

I plan on going to UToledo which is very close to UMich so I'm not entirely sure how it will make a difference it will make, but I do feel I would do best there. I noticed some years they have a few Central Michigan graduates but UT is never mentioned on the class profiles, which was the main reason for my question because (at least in my eyes) some UT programs are better than CM programs. Thanks for the response!